Christmas Wish
by Soul Stealer 2K4
Summary: Prequel to 'Merry Christmas Darling'. "Cyrus tilted his head as the ice ninja dropped to the floor and doubled over into a dogeza bow. Such a deep, intentional bow indicated either the need for forgiveness or a favour. Though confused, Cyrus would soon see that Zane required both." Rated T just in case.
1. Introduction IMPORTANT PLEASE READ

Hello readers,

Here is the prequel to my first Ninjago fanfic "Merry Christmas Darling", which goes into more detail regarding that story's plot.

Again, I have tried to maintain canonical personalities and speech patterns, but may have slipped on occasion owing to some fluff parts and world building that will come into play for the next Ninjago fanfic.

As with my previous submission, this story will use Japanese terminology from time to time, which I will provide a glossary for, and this fanfic is also fully written and merely requires posting of the chapters.

Also, it's important to note that I am assuming that the ninja are all at least 21 years old, as the series has been going since 2011 and if they were teenagers at the time of season 1, then they are likely legal adults by now.

For this reason, the next fanfic will require an M rating, but this one will maintain a T rating.

Thank you for your continued support.


	2. Let the Rebuild Begin

Hello reader. Please find below, the glossary for this chapter.

Zukin - official word for the ninja face mask

Gi - upper part of the ninja uniform

Dogeza - extreme bow of deference wherein the person bowing is kneeling on the floor with their forehead to the floor

Fuyu no Odori - literally translated it means Winter Dance

* * *

Zane sat on the floor. He had removed Pixal's neural drive and was currently staring at it, focusing on it intently from its place on the table. He was becoming seriously concerned, she had been exhibiting some worrying signals lately, and he wondered if it was because she was stuck in his head all the time. Jay wandered into the room, waving at Zane with a smile.

"Hey Zane, what's up?" He asked, as he noticed the drive on the table. "Did you and Pixal have a fight?"

"No, I'm just worried about her." Zane sighed.

"Is she okay?"

"I think she is becoming isolated from being constantly stuck in my processor." He said, not taking his eyes off the drive. "I am thinking about asking Mr Borg to rebuild her body."

"That's a great idea," Jay smiled. "maybe you could have it made as a Christmas present."

"I guess I am just nervous." Zane confessed.

"But why?" Jay raised an eyebrow at his companion. "Mr Borg is a nice guy, he'd be glad to rebuild her."

"It is because of me that Pixal got scrapped in the first place," Zane sighed as memories of his time on Chen's island came flooding back. "she was the one who retrieved my blueprints, found a new power source, helped me rebuild myself… and I failed to protect her from Clouse."

Jay fell silent as he recalled the day Zane had told them about how he came to be on the island. His stomach turned at the thought of someone as sweet as Pixal having her arm sawn off so brutally, and he tried to imagine someone as generally calm as Zane going on an icy rampage and practically obliterating every building on Chen's island. Looking back, they had wondered why Chen waited three months to invite them to his tournament; by then the ninja were all so broken by Zane's death that they had gone their separate ways. Little did they know at the time that he was rebuilt within three days of the memorial service they had for him.

"I'm sure Mr Borg wouldn't hold anything against you," Jay attempted to comfort him and patted him on the shoulder. "if it wasn't for you, Pixal wouldn't be here at all, at least you saved her hard drive."

Zane didn't seem convinced, and he continued to stare at the drive on the table.

"Why don't I come with you?" Jay suggested. "You know, for moral support."

"No, I should be able to do this on my own." Zane sighed again.

"What are teammates for, huh?" Jay nudged him cheerfully. "Come on, let's call him and see if he's free this afternoon."

"See if who's free?" Kai asked as he walked in.

"Mr Borg," Jay explained. "Zane wants to ask him to make a new body for Pixal."

"You miss her a lot don't you," Kai said, crossing his arms. "physically I mean."

"Yes, I do." Zane agreed, lifting the neural drive from the table and holding it close to his chest.

"Well, come on then, let's just go see him." Kai insisted.

* * *

What started as just Kai and Jay accompanying Zane, quickly turned into a team-building exercise as all six ninja were waiting in the lobby of Borg Industries. They perched themselves on a nearby couch, all decked out in their uniforms as if they were there on official business. Which, they kind of were – they were there to support their fellow ninja as he endeavoured to ask a favour of Mr Borg. Suddenly they were approached by a security officer who looked very familiar to Zane. He pulled down his zukin and smiled.

"Mr Hedges," He grinned. "how good to see you again."

"Hello _Zander_ ," Hedges responded. "it's been a while."

"Yes, too long." Zane smiled.

"Mr Borg will see you now, if you'd care to follow me." Hedges nodded, gesturing to the elevator.

"I will be back soon." Zane promised his friends.

"Good luck!" Nya said.

"He doesn't need luck, he'll be fine." Jay corrected.

"You'll be alright, tin-head, just stay cool." Cole joked.

"Take deep breaths and don't ramble!" Lloyd warned.

"Stop making him nervous!" Kai slapped his hand to his forehead.

"Thanks guys." Zane replied as he walked away with Hedges.

Once they were a sensible distance from his friends, Zane looked at Hedges with a concerned glance. Hedges looked back at him with a sincere grin and escorted him into the elevator. As the doors closed and the elevator began to ascend the building, Hedges cleared his throat.

"Miss Borg not with you?" Hedges asked.

"Uh, no, she decided to stay behind." Zane replied.

It was a complete lie of course, Pixal's neural drive was tucked safely inside Zane's gi. The favour he was about to ask of Mr Borg was to remain a secret until the very last minute, and as such, Pixal could not be in his head when he was discussing it. The elevator doors opened in Mr Borg's office, and Hedges gestured for Zane to get off here.

"Zane!" Cyrus Borg called out from the other side of his desk. "This _is_ a surprise, I'm so glad to see again!"

With the doors closed behind him, and the elevator safely on its way back down the building, Zane approached the desk silently. Cyrus tilted his head as the ice ninja dropped to the floor and doubled over into a dogeza bow. Such a deep, intentional bow indicated either the need for forgiveness or a favour. Though confused, Cyrus would soon see that Zane required both.

"Mr Borg," He began with his forehead touching the ground. "please accept my sincerest apologies for what happened to Pixal when you entrusted her to my care."

"Zane," Cyrus sighed. "you are not the one who scrapped my dear Pixal, in fact you are the one who saved her from the fate of being left to rot by that awful maniac Chen – I do not blame you for anything."

"Please, forgive me." Zane pleaded.

"There is nothing to forgive; you rescued Pixal and let her share your body," Cyrus wheeled over to the ninja. "as far as I am concerned, you have continued to protect her with such fierce loyalty that if anything you should be rewarded."

Zane sat up from his extreme pose of deference, with tears pricking his eyes. He was so relieved to hear that Mr Borg did not blame him for what happened.

"Now we've gotten that out of the way, how can I help you?" Cyrus smiled.

"I love having Pixal with me all the time, but I worry that she is feeling isolated by the confinement," Zane explained. "I wonder if you would allow me to rebuild her here, as she did for me."

"Of course!" Cyrus beamed happily. "I'm sure I have her blueprints around here somewhere."

"I realise that it is rather short notice, but I was hoping to have it ready in time for Christmas," He mentioned as he produced her neural drive from its safe place inside his gi. "I want to surprise her."

"How sweet," Cyrus grinned. "I know you are busy, what with your ninja duties, so if I can offer any assistance you have only to ask."

"Thank you, I would certainly appreciate your help; you see, I can only leave her neural drive out of my processor for so long before she may become suspicious," Zane bowed again. "so I will be here every day, but I will be on something of a time-limit."

"I understand, and don't worry; between the two of us I'm sure it will be finished by Christmas," Cyrus sighed, and his expression turned a little nostalgic. "it'll be just like when Pixal rebuilt _you_ here, right down to the element of secrecy."

"Yes," Zane chuckled.

* * *

Meanwhile, the other ninja were starting to get a little antsy. There were chores that needed doing, their daily training session to complete, and if they didn't get back to the temple soon they'd be up until midnight getting everything finished. Nya couldn't bare just waiting around, so she stood up and pulled her ninja mask down with a frustrated sigh.

"What could be taking him so long?" She asked no one in particular, crossing her arms impatiently.

"Miss Nya, is that you?"

Nya turned around to see Benson, who seemed surprised that she was even here.

"Mr Benson!" She exclaimed, smiling widely at him.

"I didn't expect to see you, how's everything going?" He grinned, offering her a handshake.

"Pretty good, I'm the Master of Water these days," Nya rebuffed the formal greeting and gave him a quick hug instead. "how about you?"

The others had no idea who this guy was, or how Nya even knew him, but the friendly manner in which they approached each other meant that they were, at the very least, strong acquaintances. They didn't know that when Nya made her daily pilgrimage to Borg Industries to check on Pixal, Benson was the one who welcomed her every day.

"Who are you here to see?" Benson wondered. "I could call and find out where they are."

"Actually we just dropped in, we didn't have an appointment," She explained sheepishly. "Zane is upstairs seeing Mr Borg so we're just waiting for him."

"Is Miss Borg not with you?" He asked, looking at the other ninja who were still sitting on the couch.

"Uh, no, she's with Zane," She muttered. "but I don't believe you've met everyone else yet."

"I haven't had the pleasure, not in person." Benson beamed excitedly.

"Guys, this is Mr Benson, one of Mr Borg's personal security officers," Nya smiled. "this is-"

"Oh, oh, I know!" Benson eagerly approached the ninja and pointed them out one by one. "Lloyd, Cole, Kai and Jay!"

"Nice to meet you." Lloyd smiled.

"You know us by name, are you a fan?" Kai grinned.

"Oh yes, I always hoped I would get to meet you all!" Benson struggled to contain his excitement.

"So how do you know Nya?" Jay questioned with one eyebrow raised.

"She used to come visit Miss Borg," Benson replied, taking Jay's hand and giving a firm, if slightly giddy, handshake. "I must say it is an honour to meet the Master of Lightning."

"You clearly have good taste in elements." Jay smirked.

Benson continued to fuss over the ninja, asking questions about their elemental power and what it was like to be a ninja, when the ever-stoic Cole suddenly lifted him off the ground. As Kai watched his super strong teammate lift the man using only one arm, he leaned over to his sister.

"Hey sis," Kai whispered. "who's 'Miss Borg'?"

"You idiot, Miss Borg is Pixal," She sighed. "all the employees here call her that."

"It's a bit formal isn't it?" Kai boldly stated. "It's not like Pixal is Mr Borg's daughter."

"Actually-"

"Jack will be so jealous that I got to meet everyone!" Benson interrupted, nudging Nya and smiling happily. "It really has been wonderful to meet you all, but I must go now – still on the clock you know."

Benson bowed politely and went on his way.

"Who's Jack?" Cole asked Nya once Benson was out of earshot.

"His boyfriend I think," Nya answered. "I overheard him talking with the receptionist the first time I came to see Pixal."

"Hey guys!" Zane yelled across the lobby.

He ran over to his friends, waving like a mad man and smiling from ear to ear. The excitement was clear from his hyperactive demeanour and eager stride; he was almost skipping with joy.

"I take it from that grin on your face that the meeting went well." Cole assumed.

"Yes!" He declared. "Her new body should be ready in time for Christmas!"

"That's great news!" Jay smiled. "See, I told you he'd be okay about it."

"I must ask that you be patient with me, as I will be coming here every day to work on the rebuild," Zane requested. "I promise not to let this interfere with my chores or training however – I do not wish to be a burden, nor do I want to alarm Pixal with any unusual behaviour."

"We'll keep things as normal as possible," Lloyd nodded. "and not a word out loud about the rebuild unless Zane gives us a signal."

"But if you do need someone to cover you, I'd be happy to help in exchange for a batch of your caramel cookies." Cole offered, only half-jokingly.

* * *

It was only day three of the rebuild, and despite a number of setbacks, it was off to a good start.

On the first day, Mr Borg had trouble locating Pixal's original blueprints. Once he _had_ found them, some vital parts were missing, so they had to be redrawn based on more recent designs. As for the second day, there was some debate about the type of metal to use for her exoskeleton; Cyrus was not keen on using titanium because, although it would offer greater protection than steel, he feared it would encourage Pixal to take greater risks. Zane wanted to use titanium for the very reason that it would protect her even when he couldn't, and while he did not divulge the awful scene he witnessed on the island – when her arm was severed in front of his very eyes – he was insistent that Pixal be given a significantly hardy body.

Eventually they compromised and settled on chromium.

So, with the blueprints ready, the materials gathered, and the machines ready to go, Zane went about making the circuitry, while Cyrus Borg programmed the computer to begin construction of the exoskeleton. For Zane, there was a certain nostalgia about the whole situation. He and Pixal had built his current body here, and it was completed in just under three days. Her body would take slightly longer, because even though he would be here every day, he could only be here for a couple of hours at a time. He paused and reached into his gi, where her neural drive was being kept during his sessions at Borg Industries, and compulsively tapped on it. Of course it was still there, he had been intermittently touching the drive since he had taken it out of his head. Such was the paranoia he felt about losing her again.

"I'm sorry that I did not keep her safe." Zane apologised.

"Oh Zane, not this again," Cyrus frowned. "I told you before, I don't blame you for anything that happened."

"I should have left the island as soon as I had Pixal in my arms, but I was so angry, all I could think about was vengeance," Zane put down his soldering iron and looked up at the ceiling. "the tournament, Pixal losing her body, the banishment of Lloyd's father – none of it would have happened if it wasn't for me."

"You cannot continue to berate yourself like this; you made a mistake, everyone makes mistakes," Cyrus approached him and put his hand on Zane's shoulder. "the fact remains that Pixal is still with us thanks to you, and it is only because of your actions that we are here rebuilding her."

"Thank you." Zane smiled.

"Now, let's resolve to move forward, hmm?" Cyrus grinned. "No more sadness, only joy!"

Suddenly, Mr Hedges walked into the lab.

"Sir, forgive the interruption," He bowed politely. "but Mr Abakhan of textile manufacture is outside, he wishes to see you about your custom order."

"Those will be the outfits for this year's _fuyu no odori_ no doubt," Cyrus said as he turned to Zane. "I must go and see them, but I will be back soon."

"Okay." Zane replied.

As Cyrus Borg followed Hedges out of the room, Zane turned his attention back to the circuits he was previously working on. Mr Abakhan… the name sounded familiar. If he remembered correctly, Mr Abakhan was the person Pixal had contacted about making his ninja uniform, not to mention the suit which he wore when Hedges dropped them off at the dock. He wondered what happened to that suit – when he woke up on the island he wasn't wearing it anymore. Perhaps one of Chen's goons stole it, they had no sense of style though, so maybe it was Clouse.

Clouse… if he ever saw that moustached clown again, there was going to be hell.

Zane rapidly shook his head. Mr Borg was right, he couldn't think that way anymore. It was that sort of thinking that led to him becoming a blizzard of wanton destruction. Clouse and his devious Master Chen had been banished to the Cursed Realm for their actions; _that_ was supposed to be worse than any mortal punishment.

Now was the time for looking forward, not backward. He for one, looked forward to seeing his beloved Pixal in physical form again. Of course he enjoyed having her in his head, she was always there for him and it was always wonderful waking up to her smiling face. But it would be better to wake up to her smiling face and be able to hug her as well. When they were in the cells on Chen's island she spoke so highly of him. At first, he thought she was just being polite, but as his memories returned, he once again understood the depth of their relationship. He didn't expect anyone else to understand. After all, love at first sight is a rarity even among humans, for droids to experience it was completely unheard of.

"Sorry for the delay," Cyrus apologised as he came back into the room. "the outfits were not quite what I wanted, so I had to suggest some alterations."

"So, this _fuyu no odori_ , does everyone participate?" Zane asked.

"No, usually it's just Pixal and some of the other female employees," Cyrus explained. "but it helps to get everyone up and dancing at the New Year's Eve party."

"I did not know that Pixal could dance." Zane mentioned, looking up from his work and remembering having to teach her some of what he knew.

"She is a beautiful dancer," Cyrus sighed with a paternal smile on his face. "she's mastered the winter dance, but she's never danced any other way before."

"I see." Zane answered.

Now it made sense that she was so unsure of herself when she was dancing with him – she was used to dancing in a group, not with a partner and certainly not in the closed position.

"Now that she is being rebuilt, I was hoping that she will take part this year." Cyrus casually mentioned, inspecting the legs that had been constructed.

"I'm sure she will," Zane said. "it's tradition after all."

"Which reminds me…" Cyrus reached into his jacket and pulled out a pearlescent white envelope, sealed with a wax inkan stamp.

He handed the envelope to Zane and smiled.

"I have always wanted to invite you and your team to one of my celebrations, but you are usually so busy keeping Ninjago safe," He said. "I would be honoured if you all could join the festivities this year."

"Wow, thank you." Zane responded, looking at the fancy invitation before placing it in his gi, next to Pixal's neural drive.

"And I do mean the _entire_ team is invited," Cyrus nodded. "that includes Sensei Wu and Lloyd's mother."

"We would love to come, Jay will be especially pleased, he loves a good party."

Cyrus Borg smiled to himself. With the legs complete, he programmed the computer for the next stage of the build; her torso. He was extremely happy to have his daughter back, even if she would ultimately leave to be with Zane. It was, after all, the nindroid's idea to rebuild her. With the programming finished, and construction started up once more, he turned to Zane, with the warm expression of appreciation.

"I cannot express my gratitude enough," He stated. "not only for saving my dear daughter, but for the lengths you went to, just to keep her safe."

Zane was stunned into silence. He had never heard Mr Borg openly refer to Pixal as his daughter until now. It was just like his relationship with Dr Julien – the man he considered his father. Deep in his memory, there was more than one occasion when the great inventor referred to Zane as his son.

"I love Pixal, more than I ever thought possible," Zane declared. "and it is most heart-warming that you consider her your daughter."

"Who knows? Perhaps one day you will be my son-in-law!" Cyrus chuckled, patting Zane on the back.

He did not answer, just continued soldering as Cyrus went over to the computer and began typing. Was Mr Borg being serious? Zane was certainly not put off by the idea, but he didn't think it was even possible for droids to get married. On the other hand, Cyrus Borg had rebuilt Ninjago City from the ground up after it was destroyed; in a way, he was much like the feudal-era land barons who often held positions of power in government – he could easily _make_ it possible…


	3. Individual Introspectives

"Are you serious?" Jay yelled excitedly.

"Yes, we've been invited to Mr Borg's New Year's Eve party." Zane nodded, pulling the invitation out of his gi and handing it to Lloyd.

"Wow, that's cool," Lloyd said as he opened the envelope and pulled out a fancy card, covered in elegant calligraphy. "Mr Cyrus Borg of Borg Industries humbly requests the honour of your presence at this year's New Year's Eve Gala, December 31st from 8pm to 1am at the Borg Industries Tower; black tie optional."

"A _gala_?" Cole remarked with a whistle. "How fancy."

"Can we go? Can we go? Please!" Jay pleaded.

"I don't see why not, of course ultimately it's up to Sensei Wu." Lloyd stated.

"He is invited as well," Zane confirmed. "as is Misako, Mr Borg was very clear that everyone is welcome."

"We'll need to get some appropriate clothes of course, I don't think any of us has formal wear." Lloyd mentioned.

"YES!" Jay grabbed the invite out of Lloyd's hand and ran off to find Kai and Nya.

"So, how's the rebuild going?" Cole asked.

"Very well," Zane smiled. "if we can keep up this pace, she'll be finished on Monday."

"That would be perfect – a few days before Christmas would give her time to settle in," Lloyd said. "I bet you're looking forward to having her here."

"Yes…" Zane joyously sighed. "I only wish I had done this sooner."

"I understand why you didn't, after all, it was only recently that you noticed Pixal was getting a bit isolated."

"I love having her with me all the time, but I had to put it into context," Zane explained. "she's pretty much trapped in my head, and with an AI as advanced as hers, she was bound to develop cabin fever."

"Well, I better go find Jay before he tells Nya about the gala, knowing her she'll drag us out to go clothes shopping this instant." Lloyd joked as he walked away.

Zane sat down and retrieved Pixal's neural drive from his gi. He put it into the back of his head and laid on the couch, hoping to create the illusion that he was having a nap. Her image appeared on his internal vision and he smiled. She smiled at him and waved.

["Hello Zane, did you fall asleep?"] She asked.

"Yes, I did not realise I was so tired."

["You seem to be falling asleep rather a lot recently, only for an hour or two, but sleeping in the afternoon will disrupt your ability to sleep at night."] She stated with an edge of concern in her voice.

"Maybe I should engage in lighter training, so I do not tire out as easily." He suggested.

["Perhaps…"]

"Zane!" Kai shouted as he ran into the room. "Check it out! We got invited to a New Year's Eve party!"

"Really? Where?" Zane wondered, playing ignorant as he sat up.

"Borg Industries," Kai excitedly replied. "it's the biggest party in the city!"

Zane noticed Pixal's smile get a little bigger at the mention of Mr Borg's company. He was happy to have witnessed Cyrus Borg declare Pixal to be his daughter, and happier still to find that Cyrus saw him as a suitable partner for her. Of course, in the interest of keeping the rebuild secret, he had blocked off her access to his short term memory, so she wouldn't know anything about the conversation he and Cyrus had.

"We'll have to get some new gear," Kai decided. "what is 'black tie optional' anyway?"

"It means we'll need to get tuxedos," Zane laughed. "or a dark suit at the very least."

["You will look very handsome in a tuxedo."] Pixal said, holding her hands behind her back and looking away shyly.

* * *

It was day four of the rebuild.

Zane was on his way out as usual – 3pm on the dot – while Lloyd and Kai cheerfully waved him off. They saw how happy he was to be getting Pixal back in the real world. True to his word, Zane had kept up with his chores and completed his training every day before heading off to Borg Industries. Did they think it was mad, the lengths their nindroid compatriot was going to? Not really. It was something he felt strongly about, something he really wanted to do, so they weren't going to get in his way.

"Do you think she'll look the same as before?" Kai wondered.

"Probably, I can't imagine Zane will make her look different." Lloyd answered.

"It's not just him building her though, Mr Borg might decide to change something." Kai pointed out.

"I doubt it," Lloyd shook his head. "they wouldn't be working on it together if they couldn't agree on everything."

"Do you think he'll be different with her around?"

Lloyd paused and raised an eyebrow at Kai, who simply shrugged in response. He'd raised an interesting question though. Goodness knows the triangle between Jay, Nya and Cole had caused a lot of problems in the past, but Zane and Pixal's relationship seemed much simpler. There was no external element throwing a wrench into their dynamic, no third person trying to mess with what they had. And since they were both droids, societal expectations were non-existent – they could work things out at their own pace.

"He might be, but you gotta remember this whole thing will be new to them both." Lloyd stated.

"What do you mean?" Kai asked curiously.

"We don't know what their relationship is, and to be honest, I don't think they know either," Lloyd theorised. "they'll need some time to figure things out – they won't be as complicated as humans when it comes to being partners, but they'll have their own hurdles to jump."

"Get you, Mr Psychologist," Kai teased, playfully shoving Lloyd. "you seem so certain about it all."

"Hey, a ninja is always learning," Lloyd grinned. "and you learn a lot in a group with as many different personality types as ours."

"So what do you think you'll learn with Pixal's personality mixed in with everyone else's?"

"She seems to have more situational awareness than Zane did when we first met him, so I don't think she'll be quite as clueless," Lloyd mused. "but it will be interesting to see how she reacts in a social setting versus the professional environment she's used to."

"You wanna talk interesting? I can't wait to see how they react to each other once Pixal is in her new body." Kai decided.

"I'm not sure I follow."

"Okay, you don't think they know what their relationship is, but I think they do; they must be a hell of a lot closer now than they were when they first met, and all that development happened while she was in his head," He elaborated. "sure, as an individual he probably won't be all that different, but with the two of them in the same room? You'll be able to cut the tension with a _knife_ – I'm expecting him to blow a fuse."

"We'll have to agree to disagree on that one," Lloyd shook his head. "Zane and Pixal are both pretty reserved, I don't see them behaving any differently just because their domestic arrangements have changed."

"Wanna bet on it?" Kai smirked.

"The usual wager?" Lloyd asked. "A week's worth of chores?"

Kai nodded and held out his hand. Lloyd smiled confidently and gripped his friend's hand in a firm, self-assured handshake. While they were still clasping hands, Kai pulled Lloyd towards him.

"Prepare to lose." Kai whispered, bearing a satisfied grin as they parted.

Lloyd shook his head again and chuckled as Kai strolled off with a cocky spring in his step. He was as hot-headed as his element, always so sure that he was right about everything. But his comments gave Lloyd pause. Would Zane's calm, collected demeanour really be so easily swayed by dint of Pixal being back in the real world?

"No way." He said out loud.

"No way what?"

Lloyd looked to his right and saw Cole, eyeing him up strangely.

"Oh, nothing," He diverted, not wanting anyone else to find out about his little wager with Kai. "so what are you doing here anyway? I thought you were still training."

"We've run out of things for me to lift so I thought I'd take a break," Cole stated. "Kai's looking pretty smug, what's that all about?"

"Isn't that how he always looks?" Lloyd innocently deflected.

Cole burst out laughing.

"Someone's witty today," He said, slapping Lloyd on the shoulder. "I take it Zane's gone already?"

"Yeah," Lloyd replied. "have you seen Nya anywhere?"

"She's busy getting her room ready," Cole mentioned. "she's never had a roommate before so she's gotta change the layout a bit."

"Thank goodness for that," Lloyd sighed. "I thought for sure she was gonna drag us out to go clothes shopping."

"You're telling me," Cole grimaced. "don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to that cool party, but I'm so not into wearing a suit."

"Just be grateful it's only black tie optional, if it was black tie we'd all be dressed like penguins." Lloyd said.

Cole raised an eyebrow at Lloyd.

"Not literally dressed like penguins," Lloyd rolled his eyes. "I mean figuratively, because we'd be wearing tuxedos."

"I can just picture Jay with a top hat and a monocle." Cole snickered.

"With one of those swaggering canes and a fancy moustache?" Lloyd suggested.

The two looked at each other and eventually flew into a fit of side-splitting laughter, cracking up so hard that they were weeping and holding themselves as they laughed. The very idea of Jay – their most light-hearted companion – being dressed like Mr Peanut was absolutely hilarious. As they slowly regained their composure, Lloyd and Cole glanced at each other; bonded by their moment of levity.

"Well, that was fun." Lloyd grinned.

"Yeah, I needed a good laugh," Cole agreed. "this cold weather is driving me nuts."

"I swear you've got no blood, you get cold so easily," Lloyd noted. "you think it's got something to do with your element?"

"Eh, who knows?" Cole shrugged.

* * *

It was day five of the rebuild.

Zane was a bit late today. He sped into the building and managed to grab the elevator that was about to go up. He thanked the employees in the elevator for holding the door for him, and briefly chatted with them before they got off at their respective floors. When it got to the floor he needed, he was surprised to find no one there. He wandered around, even called out a few times, but found only the skull he had been working on yesterday.

"Zane!" Cyrus exclaimed as he appeared from the inventory cupboard, scaring the droid in the process. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"No, it's my fault," Zane politely corrected. "I am sorry for being late."

"It's quite alright," Cyrus grinned. "I'm just glad you're here, I was starting to worry."

"Training ran longer than usual," Zane replied. "what were you looking for in there anyway?"

"I was hoping to find some different coloured lenses to use for her eyes, just to try mind you; a nice warm white perhaps."

"Personally, I like her eyes being green." Zane casually mentioned.

"Yes, it does go rather nicely with her purple circuits," He smiled. "I will of course be replicating those external circuit lines – they aren't necessary of course, but this body will be as close to her original one as possible."

Zane was happy about that, he couldn't imagine Pixal without her unique exterior markings.

"Thank you so much for letting me rebuild her," Zane said for perhaps the twentieth timesince the project started. "it will be so good to hold her again..."

"You know Zane, Pixal was supposed to be a prototype, but as time went on, I realised just how special she was – I couldn't bring myself to mass produce her like she was just some inanimate object," Cyrus recalled fondly. "eventually, all I wanted was for her to be happy, and I'm so pleased that she found someone such as you; I will make sure she has whatever she needs to live a good life with the one she loves."

Cyrus gave Zane a compassionate smile and patted his shoulder. He then went over to his work station and began lining the inside of Pixal's joints with the same Kevlar-titanium weave used in Zane's body. Cyrus didn't like the idea of using titanium for Pixal's exoskeleton, but he didn't mind using it to protect the vital inner parts of her. He also hadn't even heard of Kevlar-titanium weave being used in droid manufacture until it had been used for Zane.

He smiled to himself and looked over to where Zane was working on the skull, deftly soldering the facial circuits to it and connecting them to the optics. He was such a dedicated young man, loyal to a fault and fierce as a wolf, but he was also calm and controlled… well, mostly. Zane did not divulge exactly what had set him off on his arctic rampage while on Chen's island, but he suspected the nindroid had been pushed too far – Zane was not one to go ballistic without reason.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Cyrus asked.

"Hmm?" Zane mumbled, not looking up from his work.

"About what happened on the island?"

Zane dropped his soldering iron and turned to Mr Borg with a worried look on his face.

"You don't have to," Cyrus back-pedaled. "but I thought perhaps you'd like to get it off your chest."

"It is just a painful reminder of how I failed." Zane said nervously, reaching down to pick up the soldering iron.

"Nonsense, I've said before that I credit you for saving Pixal's neural drive - it contains her soul, her personality: her ghost, if you will," Cyrus insisted. "we can rebuild her body as many times as necessary – it is merely a shell – but everything that makes Pixal who she is, is on that neural drive."

After a moment of hesitative silence, Zane took a deep breath and began to speak.

"When I woke up on the island, the last thing I remembered was being on the ferry, so they must have knocked me out," Zane said, his eyes fixed on the ground. "Clouse had captured Pixal and dangled her safe release as a bargaining chip, but then he ordered his henchmen to hurt her, and they wouldn't stop hurting her, until they had gone too far."

Cyrus' blood boiled at the thought of someone putting their hands on his daughter. His rising anger was tantamount to the intense fury radiating from Zane. The nindroid continued, compelled by the therapeutic effect of talking it out.

"He treated her injury as though it were a means to an end – that this demented show of power over his goons was a sign that I should surrender," Zane closed his eyes as he recalled the ensuing carnage. "but he had crossed a line, and something in me just… snapped… it was like lighting a stick of dynamite and expecting it to go out just because they told it to."

"I can't imagine what it was like to actually be there," Cyrus empathised. "but from the sound of it, I would've reacted the same way you did."

"My powers immediately went into defensive mode, and we were surrounded by a giant frozen bubble… then more of Clouse's lackeys appeared and started getting too close," Zane put his hand on the side of his head. "shards of ice were shooting in all directions; buildings were demolished, people were wounded, but it wasn't enough – I had to destroy the whole island."

"They must have knocked you out again, or you would've come here with Pixal once you were finished."

"I should have returned straight away, but I was blinded by rage," Zane sighed. "I put Pixal, myself, my team, and all the other elemental masters in danger with my foolish actions."

"Everyone makes mistakes." Cyrus said sympathetically.

"I suppose so." Zane half-heartedly agreed.

"How about a quick break?" Cyrus offered. "I'll have some drinks sent up."

"That sounds good, thank you." Zane beamed.


	4. Admissions and Admirations

Zane dropped onto the couch.

They hadn't gotten much done after their break, but then, Zane had not anticipated the drinks to be alcoholic. Yes, he was old enough to drink it, but they had a job to do, and not much time to do it in. Fortunately, Mr Borg offered to keep working after Zane left, seeing as taking a break was his idea. When Zane got back to the temple, Sensei Wu was not home. It didn't look like anyone else was home either. Perhaps they had gone out to get suitable attire for Mr Borg's New Year's Eve party. He once again retrieved Pixal's neural drive from his gi and returned it to its rightful place in his head. Her image appeared in his interior vision, just as it had yesterday, and the day before, and every day that he had been working on her new body. She smiled at him and soon noticed that he wasn't quite himself.

["Zane, are you alright?"] She asked worriedly. ["Your gyroscopic stabilisers appear to be out of alignment."]

"Perhaps I am getting an illness." He suggested.

["You are a droid, you do not get sick, unless…"]

"Unless…?"

["Unless you have contracted a virus,"] She explained. ["but I don't know how you could have picked up anything, the processor we installed had a built-in firewall."]

"Maybe you were right about me sleeping in the afternoon." Zane mused.

["Excessive sleeping is not likely to produce this kind of imbalance,"] Pixal explained. ["either you have accessed something that has left malware in your system, or you have consumed something that did not agree with you."]

"I haven't had anything out of the ordinary." Zane lied, trying not to alarm her.

["An in-depth scan did not reveal any malware or trojan viruses, I can only assume that this _is_ the result of oversleeping."] She confirmed.

"It is nice to finally be alone with you." He grinned.

["Technically, we are always alone together,"] She giggled. ["but I see your point."]

"Are you looking forward to Mr Borg's party?" He wondered.

["Very much so, it will be good to see Mr Borg again."] She smiled.

"Did you get to go to this party?" He queried. "When you still worked there, I mean."

["I did, and I did not,"] She answered. ["it was my job to organise things like the catering, decorations, invitations, entertainment, transport for honoured guests, even the clean-up afterward – but generally I did not partake of the party itself."]

"Generally?" He probed curiously.

["While I did not attend the party in a social capacity, it was part of my job to lead the other female performers in the _fuyu no odori_."]

"I did not know you could dance."

["I cannot, the moves are part of my programming,"] Pixal corrected. ["though I do enjoy performing it."]

Suddenly there came the sound of the front door opening, and a rabble of conversation rang out as his teammates returned from wherever it was they had been. Zane could hear them talking – the excitement about Christmas and the upcoming party was clear in their voices.

"Hey Zane!" Jay shouted as he walked in the living room. "Dude, where ya been?"

"Asleep." Zane replied, making subtle hand gestures to indicate that it wasn't safe to talk.

"You've been doing that a lot lately, sleeping in the afternoon," Jay said with a wink, indicating that the message was received. "maybe we should've woken you up and dragged you out with us."

"Where did you go anyway?"

"Nowhere special, just doing extra training outside for a change," Jay shrugged. "remember that mountain range we crossed when we were following the falcon?"

"Mmm…" Zane squinted his eyes as he searched his memory bank. "Yes, I think so."

"You okay, dude?" Jay looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "You seem a bit…off."

"It is my habit of sleeping in the afternoon," Zane mentioned. "Pixal says it has begun to affect my gyroscopes."

"Hmm," Jay wasn't convinced. "I better get Nya to look you over just in case."

He left the room and Zane's face fell.

["Zane, are you alright?"] Pixal worriedly asked.

"Pixal, do you ever get lonely?"

["No, I have you with me,"] She answered. ["I am never lonely."]

"I mean, being stuck in my head all the time," He explained. "don't you wish you could get out of there?"

Pixal paused, and her smiling face turned down into sadness. What was he saying? Was he tired of having her around? Did he want to be rid of her? No, he'd never do that. But she had noticed that these afternoon naps of his were very different to him sleeping at night – during the night she was still conscious to him; his power source, his bio-rhythm – but these stints of sleep were regular as clockwork, and she seemed to go offline with him. She would be lying if she said that this didn't worry her.

["I do sometimes feel less useful, but I'm just happy that we are together,"] She elaborated. ["on Chen's island, my main concern was making sure you escaped; if you had not rescued me from the computer, I would have asked you to shut it down before you left."]

"But… you would've been shut down with it."

["Exactly,"] She agreed. ["I would rather not exist, than exist without you."]

"Wow, you're right," Nya spoke as she entered the room, cutting off the conversation. "he doesn't look too good."

"He looks worse than he did before," Jay confirmed as he gave Zane a concerned glance. "dude, what happened?"

As Nya and Jay approached and looked him over, Zane noticed Pixal vigorously shaking her head; for whatever reason, she didn't want their conversation to be public knowledge.

"I think I'm getting a virus," Zane lied. "Pixal is currently doing a malware search on my system."

Nya put her hand on Zane's forehead, only to recoil as his metal face was searing hot to the touch. She held up a pen and moved it from side to side for his eyes to follow, but his eyes remained unmoving – unbeknownst to her, he was too busy watching Pixal on his interior vision as she sat down and turned away from him slightly. She looked deeply ashamed of her previous confession; that she saw her life as meaningless without him. It sounded so pathetic, no matter how true it was.

"Zane, maybe you should go lay down for a while." Nya suggested.

"That's a good idea." Zane dazedly replied.

He stood up and walked away, leaving Nya and Jay glancing at each other with worried expressions. As Zane made his way up the stairs and into his room, he sat on the bed and sighed. Pixal still looked profoundly regretful for what she'd admitted to him.

["I'm sorry,"] She sighed. ["I should not have said what I did."]

"I would rather you be honest," He mentioned. "that is why I asked you in the first place."

["I'd rather be here with you, than anywhere else."] She smiled. ["as long as you do not mind sharing your headspace with me."]

"Of course not," He smiled back, slightly relieved. "I just want you to be happy,"

["I _am_ happy."] She assured as she shuffled around to face him.

* * *

It was day six of the rebuild.

At this point, Cole wished he could've gone with Zane. It's not like they were far from where Zane was; Nya, in all her wisdom, had dragged the remaining ninja out to a shopping mall in New Ninjago – Borg Industries was a mere 10 minute walk away. But his attempts at bargaining, pleading and even begging got him nowhere. No one else seemed half as annoyed about it as he was. Suddenly he saw something he _was_ interested in and wandered off in that direction.

"Hey Kai!" Jay yelled across the formalwear section of the men's department. "What do you think of this?"

"Jay! Inside voice!" Nya scolded, as a couple of guys nearby chuckled.

"Sorry," He apologised, lowering his volume. "but I've found this really cool suit."

"Hmm, it is nice, but I'm not sure it's formal enough." Lloyd added.

"Does formality really matter?" Kai asked as he came over to have a look at what Jay was yelling about. "It's black tie _optional,_ remember?"

"Lloyd's right," Jay stated. "this is the biggest party of the year we're going to-"

"And not just any party, the most glamorous event in the Ninjago calendar." Nya added.

"Exactly; we can't go looking like gate crashers; we gotta turn up lookin' sharp." Jay grinned.

"Sorry sis, I'm just not digging the black," Kai shook his head. "don't they do these things in other colours?"

"Tuxedos only come in black or midnight blue, but I'm sure the bow ties and waistcoats come in different colours." Nya mentioned.

"It's better than nothing, I guess, but we should find someone who can help us," Kai said as he looked around. "I need to see what colours they have."

"Looks like Cole already found some help." Lloyd laughed.

The earth ninja, who at this point had been absent for most of their shopping trip, was currently leaning on the accessories counter and casually attempting to pick-up the young lady by the cash register. It seemed to be working – she was giggling and glancing at him coyly while she arranged the items on display. She gently tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled warmly at him.

"Should we go over?" Kai grinned wickedly.

"Let's." Lloyd nodded.

The two of them strolled over to the counter and stood either side of Cole. He wasn't very amused about being interrupted when he was finally enjoying himself.

"Excuse me miss, we're looking for something colourful to go with our tuxedos." Kai politely asked.

"Of course," She smiled. "we have a wide selection of colours in our accessories, what did you have in mind?"

"Definitely red, don't you think Cole?" Kai said, nudging him in the side.

"That name sounds so familiar…" She paused for a moment, then suddenly turned to Cole and gasped. "Oh my gosh! You're one of the ninja!"

"Yep," He smiled confidently. "we need some formal wear for a party we're going to."

"Then I have the _perfect_ colour for you," She giggled, reaching under the counter for a dark stone grey-coloured cummerbund and matching bow tie. "these will go so well with your _captivating_ eyes, and we also have a waistcoat in this shade, if you prefer."

"Why thank you." He winked and brushed his hand against hers, causing her to blush.

Lloyd and Kai somehow managed to suppress their urge to torment him over it.

"And for you sir," She produced a fire red cummerbund and bow tie for Kai. "hopefully this will meet your expectations."

"Looks great." Kai beamed.

"I hope these guys aren't bothering you too much." Nya said as she approached the counter.

"Not at all," She smiled. "I was just assisting them with the accessories for their tuxedos."

"Well, they haven't even picked their tuxedos yet," Nya laughed and shooed the ninja away. "go on, go choose a nice tux while I handle with this."

"Yeah, c'mon Cole, Jay looks lonely over there." Kai grinned.

Cole winked at the young lady once more as he walked away with Kai and Lloyd. She waved at him and giggled again.

"Forgive him, he hates clothes shopping," Nya mentioned. "but I think you've made his day."

"He's made _my_ day; he's very charming," She answered, still watching him. "now, how may I help you?"

"They seem to want their accessories to match their elemental powers, so in addition to these," Nya began, pointing to the items on the counter. "we'll also need lightning blue, forest green and ice white."

"Where is the ice ninja anyway?" She wondered curiously, eyeing the other ninja and noticing one was missing.

"He's a little busy today, so if he tries on his tux and it doesn't fit, can we bring it back?"

"Of course," She nodded. "just keep your receipt and leave the tags on the clothing."

"Thank you…" Nya paused to read the young lady's name tag. "…Jasper, what a lovely name."

"Thanks," Jasper smiled happily. "and have you chosen your outfit yet? We have a wonderful selection of ladies formal wear on the first floor."

"Not yet, I'm waiting for a friend to arrive, so we can choose our dresses together," Nya remarked. "she should be here in a couple of days."

Meanwhile, the other ninja were still thumbing through the racks of formal attire, deeply unenthused by the whole clothes shopping thing. They were, however, very interested in Cole's pursuit of the girl at the counter. Kai took great satisfaction in repeating to Jay how Cole was flirting with her and how much she seemed to enjoy it.

"Oh, please, she was probably just being polite." Jay dismissed.

"I didn't know it was polite to blush when a customer winks at you." Kai smirked.

"Maybe she was just overheated," Jay said. "it _is_ warm in here."

"That's because it's so cold outside," Lloyd retorted. "if it wasn't for the in-store heating we'd have never gotten Cole here in the first place."

"Yeah, I'm glad I came now." Cole smiled.

"So it's got nothing to do with the pretty girl on the register?" Lloyd nudged him.

"Her name's Jasper," Cole corrected them. "and I'd have her number if it wasn't for you two butting in."

"Aw, don't be so sour," Jay patted him on the shoulder. "there'll be plenty of girls at the party no doubt."

"Does anyone know Zane's measurements?" Kai asked. "How are we supposed to pick a tux that'll fit without them here?"

"It's too bad we can't ask Pixal, she'd know," Jay sighed. "we should've asked before they left."

"How weird is it that we sometimes refer to Zane as 'they' because Pixal is in his head?" Lloyd said. "We'll have to get out of that habit before her new body is finished."

"I think it'll be good for them to be separate again," Cole insisted, crossing his arms. "it's not healthy for her to be so closed off from the real world."

"I'm pretty sure that's why he's finally getting a new body for her," Jay noted. "I know he's happy to have her there all the time, but he told me that he was worried about her being so isolated."

"Is that the only reason though?" Kai smirked. "This is _Zane_ we're talking about, I mean, he's no Casanova but I think it's obvious why he's doing this."

"Yeah, because he misses her," Lloyd replied confidently. "just what are you insinuating?"

" _You_ know what I'm talking about…" Kai winked.

* * *

By the time they got back to the temple, Zane was once again resting on the couch, and it looked like he was actually asleep. Cole, with Kai's words still rattling around in his head, approached and grabbed the nindroid's foot before jostling it back and forth. Rather uncharacteristically, Zane did not kick out and leap to his feet defensively. Instead, he sat up and flashed a besotted smile.

"I was wondering when you would all come back," He said.

"Your reflexes are just awful today, what's up?" Cole asked.

"Pixal is showing me some interesting new protocols she found buried in my neural link; she knows more about my body than I do!" Zane grinned. "So where did you guys go? Did you have fun?"

"No… Nya took us to get stuff for the party," Cole grimaced. "I _hate_ clothes shopping…"

"We have never been to a 'black tie optional' party before, new clothes were a given for such an event." Zane stated.

"I guess," He sat next to Zane on the couch. "but we got some decent gear anyway, and the girl at the register was cute."

"Oh yes?" Zane smirked.

"Yeah, too bad we can't bring a plus one," Cole laughed. "I'd have invited her in a second."

"She must have been very pretty; you are not the type to fall so easily." Zane chuckled.

"Anyway, we got you a tux as well," Cole diverted, his face going slightly pink. "you gotta try it on, just in case it doesn't fit."

["It's too bad that you lost your other suit,"] Pixal said. ["or you could have worn that, it was formal enough for the occasion."]

"I think one of Clouse's lackeys stole it while I was knocked out." Zane remarked.

Cole looked at him quizzically. It was difficult to tell when Zane was talking to Pixal or to them. In fact, many things he said out loud were completely out of context as a result. But, since she was in his head, no one else could hear what she was saying – was it any wonder that she was feeling isolated?


	5. Completion and Continuation

Hello reader, hopefully you are enjoying this little foray. I will soon be posting the sequel to this story, bringing my year-long, pre-planned trilogy to a close. The final story will be released a chapter a day, and owing to certain... things that happen, it will be rated M. Anyway, onto this chapter's glossary.

Hakamashita - a short kimono worn under hakama - wide-legged pleated trousers - usually white; you often see shrine attendants wearing them.

Zori - flat, traditional Japanese footwear.

Yukata - thin, unlined cotton kimono worn during the summer.

Uchikake - highly formal kimono, worn only by a bride or a stage performer, usually untied and draped over the wearers shoulders.

Loupe - a small magnifying device used to see small details more clearly; I think Nya wore one in the Rebooted season when Zane gives half of his power to Pixal.

Enjoy!

* * *

It was day seven of the rebuild.

Things had been moving quicker than expected, even with their impromptu break a couple days ago. At this rate they were going to be done either today or tomorrow.

Zane arrived at Borg Industries dead on time. He greeted Benson at the door, and Hedges in the elevator. He went up to the floor where he and Cyrus had been working and stepped out. When he got there, he saw a man – presumably a tailor – and one of his female assistants standing next to Mr Borg. He was mildly surprised; after all, textile manufacture was several floors below this one. Cyrus Borg saw Zane and waved him over.

"Zane, my boy, I don't believe you've met Mr Abakhan," Mr Borg introduced him. "Mr Abakhan, this is Zane, I'm helping him rebuild my daughter."

"I am the one doing the helping," Zane insisted. "nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine," Mr Abakhan nodded. "now tell me, what do you think of this outfit."

The young lady standing among them was dressed in a summer kimono, though she was wearing it much shorter than normal – just above the knee, which was more the standard for a hakamashita – with long white socks and zori sandals. If not for the highly formal, heavily brocaded outer kimono (worn loosely over her shoulders), and thick kabuki-esque lines painted onto her skin, he would never have guessed she was a performer.

"I have never seen a yukata worn like this before, it's a very… unique way of wearing it, " Zane said. "and with those painted lines, it looks like she's part of a performance group."

"There, you see!" Mr Abakhan boasted. "This style is perfect for the winter dance!"

"I'm still not convinced; the lines on the face are perfect, but," Mr Borg shook his head and gently lifted the young lady's wrist with his hand. "having these marks on the arms and thighs gives it a tribal effect, I'm just not sure this is the kind of ambiance we're going for."

"Mr Borg, kimono is the traditional wear for any festival dance but wearing it this way will bring a contemporary touch to the traditional aspect," Mr Abakhan sighed before addressing his assistant. "Ruby, if you please."

Ruby stepped back, took up her pose and performed a small portion of the dance routine. The loosely fitted outer kimono swayed and billowed around her, creating a beautiful wave of colour even as she came to a stop.

"You see, it moves well," Mr Abakhan smiled. "looks like the uchikake was an excellent idea."

"I am inclined to agree, wearing the zori sandals and yukata gives the right air of tradition," Zane interjected. "but the painted stripes are striking and really draw the eye."

Mr Borg silently mused over the ideas put before him.

"Yes, I like it," Mr Borg turned to the young lady wearing the outfit. "what do you think, my dear? Is it comfortable? Do you like the style?"

"I prefer it to last year's design, and it _is_ easy to move in." Ruby mentioned.

"Can you arrange for the yukata to have some gold embroidery?" Cyrus asked. "It would make for a wonderful sparkle when the light hits it."

"Of course sir! I'll get right on it for you!" Mr Abakhan said confidently.

As the eccentric man left with his talented assistant in tow, Zane bowed to Mr Borg.

"I hope I did not speak out of turn."

"Not at all, I appreciated your input," He grinned. "I can never tell if these outfits are purposely pushing a boundary or just a reflection of Mr Abakhan's artistic eye."

"He's the one Pixal commissioned to make my ninja uniform," Zane recalled. "he is definitely a gifted designer."

"Speaking of Pixal, I've been meaning to ask you," Cyrus paused briefly. "what we are going to do about a power source for her?"

"I was going to give her half of mine." Zane stated.

"I couldn't ask you to do that, after all, you have already made that sacrifice once before." Cyrus remarked.

"From the moment I asked to rebuild her, there was never any doubt," Zane insisted. "without her I would not _have_ this power source – I wouldn't even have a body to put it in."

"You're a very charming young man, Zane," Cyrus chuckled. "is it any wonder my dear Pixal fell for you?"

"Thank you," Zane smiled. "where is she anyway?"

"Her body is all but completed, so I'm taking the opportunity to commission some upgrades for her," Cyrus smiled back. "droid technology continued to advance while she was away, and I want her to have the best."

"Wow, I'd love to see what kind of modifications you are implementing." Zane mentioned.

"With respect, there are parts of her body I do not wish you to see yet," Cyrus hinted, paraphrasing something Zane had said during his own rebuild. "but fear not, good things come to those who wait."

"Indeed." Zane grinned.

"In the meantime, perhaps we should take this opportunity to extract half of your power source," Cyrus suggested. "if you still want to, that is."

"Yes, yes, of course I do!" Zane said eagerly.

"Please, have a seat while I get the necessary tools."

Zane did as he was told and sat down on a static conveyor belt. Mr Borg's words were ticking over in his mind, as he tried to recall the situation where he'd heard them before. Even as Cyrus had returned with his tools and put on a magnifying loupe visor, Zane was being stumped by his own memory.

"I'm just going to open your chest panel, okay?"

Cyrus gently pried the panel open with a screwdriver and was immediately confronted by the glowing blue circle that was Zane's power source. With a clear container in one hand and a miniature pair of crucible tongs in the other, he skillfully detached the top half. Zane winced in pain as the semi-circular piece was removed from his body and placed in the container.

"Are you alright?" Cyrus asked.

"Yes, it was uncomfortable last time as well." Zane answered truthfully.

"This is a wonderful thing you are doing for Pixal." Cyrus confirmed, smiling at Zane.

"I could easily say the same to you." Zane remarked.

"She is my daughter – it might not have started out like that, but she endeared herself to me in ways I could not have predicted," Cyrus proudly stated. "well, now that's sorted, would you care for a tour around the building? You didn't get to see much of it when you were here last, and much has changed in that time."

"Thank you, I would love a tour." Zane smiled.

* * *

Zane had just arrived at the temple, back from his usual trek to Borg Industries. He was back much earlier than normal and seemed a little out of sorts. Jay was the first to notice how tired Zane looked.

"Hey, buddy, you okay?" Jay asked. "You don't look so hot."

"I'm fine." Zane replied.

He walked into the living room and slumped onto the floor.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Jay asked again, as if to double check.

"I have taken out half of my power source." Zane admitted.

"What? Why?"

"I am giving it to Pixal and my body needs time to adjust," Zane mentioned. "last time I gave her half of my power source, it took a day or so to return to a normal equilibrium."

"You romantic droid, you," Jay grinned giving his friend a playful shove. "some guys give their lady-friends flowers, you're literally giving her your heart!"

"She would do the same for me." Zane asserted.

"I can believe it, from what you told us about rebuilding your body," Jay nodded. "I mean, she went all that way just to get your blueprints."

"Zane, you're back!" Nya exclaimed.

She paused in the doorway and proceeded to make a number of hand gestures; touching her forehead before waving her hand sideways and then tapping on her chest. Zane softly laughed and shook his head, then reached into his gi to produce Pixal's neural drive – it was safe to talk.

"So, how's the body going?" She asked as she walked over to them.

"Mr Borg is putting the finishing touches on it," Zane responded. "he will contact me when it is ready."

"I thought you were working on it together?" Nya mused with a quizzical expression.

"We are, but the body is almost complete," Zane corrected. "so Mr Borg is taking the opportunity to have some upgrades done."

"Ooh, upgrades? Maybe she'll have built in weapons!" Jay eagerly theorised. "Or maybe she'll be able to fly!"

"I'm sure it's nothing like that Jay," Nya giggled, reaching over and ruffling his hair. "Right, Zane?"

"Actually, I do not know what the upgrades are," Zane confessed. "all he said was that droid technology had advanced and he wanted her to have the best."

"Makes sense really, I mean, Mr Borg is pretty adamant that he considers Pixal his daughter," Nya turned to Zane. "just like Dr Julien saw you as his son."

"Speaking of Pixal, she hasn't figured out what's going on, right?" Jay asked. "It would spoil the surprise if she has."

"I do not think so, but she is very concerned about me "falling asleep" in the afternoon." Zane mentioned.

"So, when you've had her out of your head, she just thinks you're sleeping?" Nya wondered.

"She has not indicated any suspicions or knowledge of what is actually happening," Zane replied confidently. "but Jay is right, it would give the whole game away if she figured out what is going on."

Suddenly there was a loud tapping on the window. Nya got up and saw a raven clicking it's beak against the pane of glass. At first, she tried to shoo it away, but it wouldn't budge – in fact it started tapping harder. Slightly confused, she opened the window and the raven flew in, hopping over to Zane and tilting its head. Zane was also confused until the raven's eyes began to glow. From the blue light of the raven's eyes, came a hologram of Mr Borg.

" _Hello Zane, if you're seeing this message, it means that the project is complete. Therefore, you and your team are invited to visit Borg Industries first thing tomorrow morning, where the finished project will be unveiled."_

The hologram disappeared, and the raven flew back out the window it had entered from.

"It's… finished." Zane breathed.

"That's great news!" Nya clapped her hands together. "I'll let the others know."

Nya happily ran off to find the other ninja. Meanwhile, Zane sat there, caught between being utterly thrilled to have Pixal back in his arms, and riddled with nervousness at seeing her new body for the first time. He didn't know what kind of upgrades Mr Borg had commissioned, though he expected her new body to look just like the old one.

"Just think, tomorrow you'll have Pixal back in the real world," Jay grinned. "I bet you're excited."

Zane pulled the neural drive from it's safe place and smiled warmly.

"Yes…" He purred, hugging the drive to his chest. "I cannot tell you how relieved I am to get her back."

Jay had no doubt that Pixal would be equally ecstatic to once again have a body of her own. Zane would also be overjoyed at the possibility of having her in his arms as she was before. Such a reality was but a few hours away. He imagined Zane would not sleep too well, the excitement of having Pixal back would likely keep him awake most of the night.

"How am I supposed to contain my enthusiasm until tomorrow?" Zane asked. "Pixal will instantly notice any elevation in my biorhythm."

"Just tell her you're hyped about the gala," Jay suggested. "we've never been to a high society do like this before – I'm pumped about it!"

"Zane!" Kai walked into the room with his arms open, followed by Lloyd and Cole. "A little birdy tells me we'll be picking up your girlfriend's new body tomorrow."

"Yes." Zane beamed happily, slightly embarrassed at his casual use of the word 'girlfriend'.

"So, come on, don't keep us in suspense," Kai said as he sat next to Zane. "what's it look like? Will we recognise her, or have you and Mr Borg put in some changes?"

"It should look like her original body." Zane replied.

"What do you mean, 'should'?" Lloyd wondered, slightly confused.

"Mr Borg commissioned some upgrades for her," He explained. "he promised she wouldn't look any different, but droid technology marched on while she was with me – he wants her to have the latest modifications available."

Kai grinned wickedly at Lloyd, certain that he would win their little bet on this information alone.

"I am so nervous," Zane admitted. "what if she doesn't like it?"

"Why wouldn't she like it?" Cole raised an eyebrow at him. "You've gone to all this effort to give her a new sense of freedom, and it'll look just like her old body; what could you possibly be worrying about?"

"I think I am just traumatised by what happened to her last body; if she's with me I can protect her better." Zane sighed.

"She'll still be with you," Lloyd reassured. "and this way you can teach her to protect herself, so she never ends up in that situation again."

"Plus, you'll be able to see her in the real world," Jay added. "we all will; she won't be so isolated anymore."

"I will still need a Plan B in case she doesn't like it." Zane insisted.

"She'll _love_ it, you need to stop worrying so much" Kai countered, giving Zane a friendly shove. "maybe we should blindfold you like they do with horses."

"You mean those blinker things they put on them for races and stuff?" Jay asked.

"Kind of…" Kai turned to Zane with a serious expression on his face. "Look, she's gonna love it, you're gonna love it, we're all gonna love it; deep down you _know_ that."

"Thank you." Zane smiled.

He retrieved her neural drive from his gi and looked around at his friends. They had been so supportive of him throughout all of this, and he had no idea how he was ever going to repay them for it. No doubt they'd shrug it off as simply being 'what you do' for your teammates, though Cole would likely try to barter for one of his bespoke desserts.

"Okay, not a word about this until we get to Borg Industries tomorrow," Lloyd declared. "agreed?"

Lloyd looked at his team, as each of them nodded in agreement. Zane laid down on the floor as he placed the drive back into his head. Pixal appeared to him once more with a smile on her face. He also smiled, even as her happy expression sank into concern.

["Zane, are you alright?"] She asked. ["You appear to be on the floor, and your adrenaline levels are high."]

"I must have fallen from the couch," He lied. "and I was having such a nice dream too."

["Oh really?" What were you dreaming about?"]

"I dreamt that you were here with me." He grinned.

["I am always with you."] She smiled again.

"No, I mean, _here_ ," He corrected, tapping the ground in front of him. "next to me."

["Laying on the floor? What would your friends say?"] She giggled.

"I do not know what they would say, but they would be jealous." He joked.

Pixal's coy laughter echoed throughout his head as he sat up and looked over at Jay, who looked back at him with wiggling eyebrows and an incredulous grin. Jay had only heard half of their conversation, but it was enough to make some safe assumptions about what they were discussing.

"You got your funny switch on or what?" Jay asked, poking him in the side.

"Not exactly." Zane beamed.

"So, who's doing the grocery shopping this week?" Cole wondered.

"Ugh, that'll be me and Lloyd," Kai groaned. "but I'm not going without a proper list this time!"

"How was I supposed to know that Zane was gonna make a different dessert than the one he said he was gonna do?" Cole snapped, feeling defensive at Kai's remark.

"My apologies," Zane humbly interrupted. "I had never made a sorbet before, and the recipe looked interesting."

"Yeah, don't knock it!" Jay chimed in. "That sorbet was delicious, you know it was!"

"Okay, you got me there," Cole admitted, pointing at Zane accusingly. "but no changing your mind after I've written the list this time."

"Agreed." Zane laughed.


End file.
